Chelsea, Liverpool showing interest in Schalke 04 left-back — report

According to German tabloid Bild, Chelsea and other Premier League clubs such as Liverpool and West Ham are interested in the services of Schalke 04 left-back Sead Kolasinac.

The 23-year-old is currently competing for a place in Schalke's starting eleven with Chelsea loanee Baba Rahman, who joined the Bundesliga side on a season-long loan deal this summer. Kolasinac took part in Schalke's 0-0 draw to Borussia Dortmund in the Ruhr derby at the Signal Iduna Park last Saturday, featuring as the starting left midfielder in manager Markus Weinzierl's 3-1-4-2 formation.

Kolasinac has been at Schalke since July 2012, and he's still on his first contract with the club, signed at the time of his arrival. The deal will be ending in the summer, and Schalke's sporting director Christian Heidel has expressed desire in extending it. Kolasinac, though, is in no rush to sort our his contractual situation.

"It must fit for both sides. I have no time pressure."

-Sead Kolasinac; Source: Bild

A teammate to Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic in the Bosnian national team, Kolasinac could be a good back-up to Marcos Alonso next season if he maintains himself ahead of Baba in the pecking order at their current club. Of course, Baba Rahman himself could be a decent backup option, especially if we continue to rely on wing-backs, and he’s already a Chelsea player!

This all reeks of Kolasinac's agent doing the usual agenty things, leaking stuff to the press so the club feel pressured to sort out the new deal for his client. As far as Chelsea are concerned, this is a whole lot of nothing, most likely.